


Ai is for Aiko

by wingman3



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Abuse, Angst, F/M, Infidelity, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Why Did I Write This?, and thus begins the drama, curiousity's sake, gosh i'm a bit embarrassed, im sorry, people will also have drama, people will have crushes, rating may change!, whooppssss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2018-11-16 19:12:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11259198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingman3/pseuds/wingman3
Summary: Daichi meets a girl who reminds him of Hibiki.He'd say that wasn't the reason he wanted to date her, but Hibiki finds that hard to believe.





	1. Hello Hello, Sorry, I don't Have Much to Offer

Daichi barely remembered much about some days, they'd pass in a blur of colors and events and memories of Hibiki's mannerisms (it was just things he picked up, best friends tend to remember 50 and counting ways their best friend laughed- the ones that Daichi himself caused were his favorites).

Some days, he'd remember the oddest things with frightening amounts of detail, like how there was a stain of grape juice on the table cloth his mom bought the day prior that she still hadn't found.  
Or how you shouldn't want to make Hibiki laugh when you're cooking something at 1 o clock in the morning, and your parents are still possibly awake.  
He still remembered Hibiki trying to hit him, trying to keep his barely held back laughter from blowing their cover.  
Worth the grounding.

That day, he wouldn't ever wipe out of his memory, even if he tried.

It was at a fast food joint, nothing special, he didn't want to go home because Hibiki was barred from going out for some stupid quiz he did less than satisfactory on and his own parents were angry at him for "distracting him." Shit way to start the weekend.

He still felt sharp stings when he remembered Hibiki's sobs into the phone. He sat at a table with a brown paper bag in front of him, full of food when he had no hunger.

Daichi ordered two burgers with the intent of sneaking into Hibiki's house and eating together, lunch without company made him feel numb and only highlighted the lack of his best friend.

"... Excuse me..." her voice was light, shy, and held a slight tremor that Daichi's ears immediately caught, "C-can I sit here...?" 

He widened his eyes and snapped his head up to look at her, black hair messy in an attractive way, large striking blue eyes, lips quivering.

She was adorable. Beautiful. 

Her barely contained whimpers reminded him of Hibiki's.

He felt terrible for that connection.

"Uh- aha... go ahead..." he was more surprised by the fact that his head didn't immediately go 'one score for the Daichster!' As soon as she sat down and laid her head on her hands.

Her eyes stared into his own, he noted that they were watery before he broke eye contact. What would Hibiki do in this situation?

Probably charm her to death, he was understanding and perceptive, and he'd know what to say-   
Daichi took an extra moment to separate everyone from himself. His cheeks reddened as he pushed away the thought of "special treatment."

"Uh.. ah... what's up?" He finally said.

"... Ah..." she turned away, startled and embarrassed (he thought so by the red in her cheeks- did she not expect anyone to ask at all?) "I-I... I was stood up."

"Ah- um-" despite his lack of knowledge in the advice-giving department, being stood up was something he was...   
Kinda familiar with...  
He stopped himself from cringing at the number of girls who stood him up when he was younger, despite the advice from Hibiki.

He hurriedly added, "He was probably a jerk anyway, did he even text you to cancel?"

"Um... she was my best friend..."

Oh.

Oh shit.

He felt like a douchebag, to say the least.

She sighed deeply, "I... I wanted to give this a try. I really liked her- more than any other boy I've gone out with- and when she agreed, I..." her voice cracked. She didn't continue, leaving them in awkward silence, punctuated by sniffs.

He had to say something, he couldn't just let her cry.

She hiccuped momentarily, and then her stomach grumbled. She hid her face in her hands.

Daichi bit his bottom lip and extracted a burger, wrapped in paper, and pushed it to her. "I don't think it's gonna help but," he gave a nervous chuckle, "have a meal- sorry I can't get you something gourmet- maybe if we were at an actual restaurant or something-"

She paused and looked up from her hands, eyes widened and face red, tears streaking her cheeks and Daichi wished he'd stop thinking of Hibiki's sobs.

She looked down at the burger, the one he'd gotten for Hibiki, and hesitantly put her hand on it, "Y-You... I can get one for myself... please don't pity me-"

"I-I'm not pitying you, promise!" He put his hands up in some sort of defense that he was sure was just stupid, "J-Just- you seem hungry is all and... and..."

She looked at him, then the burger, then him again and she cracked a small smile, a little giggle, a small "Thank you."   
Daichi's cheeks reddened as she took the fast food and started unwrapping it.

She began eating, but the silence remained awkward- to Daichi at least- she seemed comfortable enough (as comfortable as a heartbroken girl who confessed her sadness to a stranger could be)

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked.

He didn't realize the silence was broken for a moment, when he did, he let out a stupid sound that he wished he would forget-

-she snorted and tried to contain laughter, and he thought that maybe it wasn't so bad-

"Haha... uh... not really." He coughed and directed his attention to the table again.

She looked at him expectantly, head tilted cutely, he really didn't know what to say- "The name's Shijima- Daichi Shijima." He said with as much grandeur as he put into ridiculous jokes that wouldn't have been nearly as funny without it-  
It was a lot harder to do in front of her instead of Hibiki, but the result was really similar- she spluttered and was full on laughing now, all breathless, airy, and cute-  
Daichi stopped that train of thought, unable to pinpoint why.  
Yeah, she was just turned down, it wasn't the time- that was why- definitely.

She calmed herself, breaths still punctuated by small, natural giggles, and the air felt a lot less awkward when she held up the burger to her lips.

Before she took the next bite, she said, "We can go get gourmet..."

His confusion must have been evident, because she set down the nearly finished burger and produced a small diary, writing something down.

"I'd like to meet up with you more, Daichi," the smile she had widened a little more, "Let's go out to a restaurant sometime?"

Oh.

OH SHIT-

Deep breaths Daichi- this wasn't necessarily her asking him out on a date- just meant that she liked him enough to want to see him again.  
She ripped out whatever she had written down.

His heart didn't stop hammering as she set that ripped piece of paper in front of him.

Digits...  
D-Did he just get her number?!

"The name's Iiji. Aiko Iiji." She was still giggling as she mimicked his own introduction, "I hope we can become good friends."

Daichi Shijima would never forget the flush of her cheeks, the happiness in her eyes, the dried tears, and the nagging sensation of guilt in the back of his mind.


	2. Good to See You Again, Has it Been Too Long Already?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi can't help but feel guilty.
> 
> A certain phone call makes him remember why.

She ended up walking with him to the subway, and despite the fact that Daichi was pretty much a goddamn chatterbox, he was basically just responding to her- afraid if he spoke anymore he'd fumble and look like more of a fool in front of her than he already was-

She seemed okay with it though- she gave constant encouragement to talk more, prompting him with questions about himself-

 

"When's your birthday?"

 

"A-August 15th."

 

He still hated the fact that he'd stutter, it was completely uncalled for, thanks nerves.

She on the other hand- Aiko, he had to get used to calling her something other than "her"- seemed perfectly fine.

"U-Uh... when's yours?"

 

"The 27th of July."

 

And it was like this back and forth where he'd volley her questions back at her after answering them- because he felt jittery and he couldn't come up with anything else.

 

"So, Daichi, do you have any dreams?"

 

"Um... to go on a road trip with a friend..." more specifically, Hibiki, but she didn't need to know that-

 

"-Oh! That's cool, do you have anyone in mind?"

 

"Aha- a few people actually-" -just one person actually- why the hell was he lying?!

 

"I'd love to meet them sometime, maybe we could all go on a road trip- if you'd have me..." for the first time since outside the fast food restaurant, she'd blushed and lowered her voice and eyes and goddamn it, she looked too adorable.

 

But he'd been working hard to get a license specifically to go out with Hibiki- how was he going to get out of this?

 

"Y-Yeah, why not?"

 

...

... SHIT, THAT WASN'T WHAT HE MEANT TO SAY.

SHIT, SHE LOOKED HAPPY.

SHIT, HE COULDN'T TAKE THIS BACK.

WHAT THE FUCK DAICHI-

 

He was speechless as they boarded the train in the subway, surprised she didn’t seem to mind the silence none of them filled. Surprised that he was all right with it too, it was comfortable- finally.

Before they left the train, she waved to him at his stop and called, "I hope you text me soon!"

 

That was why he was on his bed with a cold burger, a slip of paper that seemed like the most important thing at the moment and his phone which had sent a text a few seconds before to that number, his mind pre-occupied with replaying the encounter over and over.

Then his phone started to ring.

He let out a small scream before composing himself- he was jittery as hell, and she wasn't even here - deep breaths Daichi.

He accepted the call and held the phone to his ear.

 

"Daichi...? Where are you...?" It was Hibiki's voice, small and hoarse and jarring- not who he was expecting- and Daichi suddenly felt like his heart sank for even feeling this-

 

"Ah- H-Hibiki?"

 

"Yeah, Hibiki," the chuckle was void of humor, and Daichi knew that Hibiki had been crying even after he'd hung up, "Were you expecting someone else?"

 

The feeling of guilt pricked at him, at the heart that felt like it was in his stomach, "No-"

 

"You're really bad at lying," Hibiki gave a laugh, and Daichi was sure the only way he'd feel worse was if- "I expected- ... I thought I'd see you at my window at least."

 

The guilt stung, stung enough to render all of Daichi's body useless.

 

"Daichi...? Are you okay?"

 

"I-I'm sorry man, I... I didn't mean to forget- I should've-"

 

"Can you come now? I locked my door, so unless my parents go outside or we're too loud, they shouldn't catch you."

 

"Your parents are going to kill you if they try opening that door," Hibiki gave a light chuckle, and Daichi's body went on automatic, full of vigor, he jumped from his bed to run out of the house, "One sec, I'll be right there."

 

"Your parents are going to kill you if you spend the night, how long?"

 

"Pfft, they don't care until the morning, I'm gonna spend the night." He slipped out of the house, surprise surprise, unnoticed. His body continued going on automatic, the warm traces of sunlight soft on his face, orange sky greeting him.

 

There was a shift of cloth on the other end of the line, and Hibiki gave a hum that made Daichi feel tingly, "I'd love that but, you're gonna get grounded too."

 

"Weekend, remember? They won't care as long as I call in the morning to prove that I wasn't kidnapped or killed. And look out of your window, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes."

 

Hibiki was immediately at his already opened window, "Hello, it's been a while," he giggled.

Daichi felt fuzzy as Hibiki leaned his head on his hands, watching Daichi climb up the tree just in front of his window.

Once he reached the windowsill, Hibiki gave him the softest, most loving smile he'd ever seen. Pure adoration in his striking blue eyes, the wind softly moving his black hair to frame his face. The sun hit his face in such a way, and Daichi couldn't look at him in the face any longer, or he'd...

 

... he'd...

 

Hibiki held out his hand for support, Daichi's hand felt clammy in comparison, and he had a slight fear that he'd slip and die.

Hibiki laced his fingers with Daichi’s own, and Daichi had no fears.

 

With the ease of an act practiced for so many years and the added addition of longer limbs, Daichi stepped through Hibiki's window, into Hibiki's room.

It was strange, no matter which room he'd go in if Hibiki were there-

  -it felt like he was stepping back home.

 

Hibiki wrapped his arms around Daichi in an embrace, laid his head on Daichi's shoulder, and whispered into his ear, "I missed you."

There was no way he missed the way that made Daichi shiver.

 

"Haha... it's just been a few hours- there's no reason to miss me," he still wrapped his arms around Hibiki, returning the embrace, laying his head on Hibiki's shoulder, and whispering, "I missed you too."

There was no way he missed the way that made Hibiki hug him tighter, closer.

 

Daichi Shijima would never forget the warm air, the familiar scent of Hibiki, of home, his best friend's soft breaths against his neck, and a familiar feeling he didn't want to name bubbling at the front of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do hope you enjoy lol


	3. It's Pretty Late, Isn't It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi gets a call as he's in the middle of trying to sleep.  
> Daichi's afraid Hibiki or Aiko will mind

He ended up staying the night.

Nothing out of the ordinary, arms wrapped around each other, Daichi wearing one of Hibiki's pajamas (Daichi once said that the pants were a bit tight, Hibiki responded by pinching his thigh), lights off and their voices hushed.

Hibiki's arms were tight around Daichi's waist, he liked it like that the best, with his own arms around Hibiki's neck with their chests pressed together and legs entwined- the physical closeness and warmth seemed to seep into his body- saying he was relaxed was an understatement.

He didn't want to say much, as they drifted to sleep, the comfortable silence and the security of his best friends arms made him content- he made a note to self to at least try getting out of bed the next morning.

 

There were no sounds, but that of their breathing...

 

Then the shrill ringing of Daichi's phone, followed subsequently by the shrill yell of Daichi, followed by Hibiki's yelp of surprise as he fell off the bed.

 

So much for silence.

 

Daichi's hand reached for his phone while sitting up to check on Hibiki - he was all right as far as Daichi could tell in the darkness, if not a bit shaken - 

"You alright?" Daichi asked.

 

"M'fine, butt hurts though," Hibiki groggily responded, rubbing his eyes, "I need to make sure my parents haven't woken up- is that your mom?"

 

Daichi took a look at the caller ID, and his heart picked up its pace- "No, it's not."

 

"Remember to be quiet," Hibiki pushed himself up onto his feet and stretched, "N'go to sleep, I'll be right back."

 

Daichi shakily accepted the call after Hibiki left, nerves spiking harder due to her number flashing on the screen rather than the possibility of getting caught. (He would have been worried even more so years ago, but Hibiki's parents treated him like an extension of their family - when Hibiki's grandparents weren't around - they wouldn't be too harsh, 10 long years just do that)

 

"H-Hello?"

 

"Hello, Daichi!" Her voice was far too awake for this hour, too loud for this quiet room, "Remember me?"

 

"Yeah, yeah I do- Aiho- I-I mean Aiko-" why was it suddenly so cold? He wiggled under the warm covers, and his nerves seemed to calm themselves automatically- not his heart though.

 

She laughed smoothly, "I was worried for a moment that you'd forgotten me, or that you wanted to forget me."

 

"I wouldn't!"

 

Aiko laughed again, "You're sweet, you know? I think I want to treat you as well as you've treated me, where do you want to go?"

 

Daichi could feel the blush in his cheeks, "You don't have to, it was just burgers..."

 

"It's the thought that counts, you listened to my woes, you gave me food- I just got my salary last week so I can splurge a bit."

 

Salary? So she had a job? "Uh! I mean, we can totally go out, I'd love to-"

 

"Shhh!" Hibiki opened the door, finger on his lips, "You're really loud."

 

"S-Sorry...!" His voice hushed to a whisper, "I'll be quieter!"

 

"Oh? Who's that?" Aiko's voice was still light if a bit inquisitive.

 

"Who are you talking to?" Hibiki's tone was the exact same, smile wide on his lips, "You're red, I can tell, is it a girl?"

 

"Uh- Ah- um!" Daichi felt overwhelmed, confused, embarrassed and he wanted to chuck the phone at the floor, wiggle completely under the covers and never get out.

Which seemed like an okay prospect, he liked sleeping in Hibiki's bed more than his own anyways

 

Hibiki pounced onto his bed, Daichi's body went in the air momentarily as he yelped, and Hibiki put an arm around him once his body settled back onto the mattress.

 

"Daichi, are you okay?" Aiko seemed a bit more worried now, Daichi looked at Hibiki helplessly.

 

"Don't mind me, continue your conversation." Hibiki hummed and ran a hand through Daichi's hair, lightly scratching his scalp.

 

"I'm gonna fall asleep if you do that!" Daichi hissed at Hibiki's cheeky smile before returning to Aiko, "I'm good, don't worry about me! Just- um- I was hanging out with my best friend." 

 

"Oh? Where are you guys? Is it a bar? I could come and see you!"

 

"Aha, um," How does one break it to a dating prospect that you're not even 20? "I'm uh, actually at his house, gonna sleep with him-"

 

By completely avoiding the subject.

 

"... what?" 

 

"Yeah? We uh... We share a bed?" 

 

Hibiki's fingers halted their movements suddenly (so did his breathing for a moment, what happened?)

 

...

 

And just as suddenly, he comprehended what he just said.

 

... what does one do when they say something utterly wrong because they're too busy doing mental gymnastics?

 

"Sh-Shit no! I-I mean we're sharing a bed cause  uh, um," they're used to it, "He doesn't have a couch," well that's a lie on all points, the couch was downstairs, "and we are confident," comfortable," enough not to make it weird!"

 

Aiko started laughing hysterically, Hibiki started giggling madly, Daichi couldn't help but laugh too (albeit weakly, he wished those two would cut him some slack-)

 

 "Oh my god," Aiko wheezed, loud enough for Hibiki to hear (his face was right up against Daichi's, how could he not-), "you are adorable!"

 

Daichi squeaked, "C'mon!" His face was beet red, he could feel the heat radiating off his face as Hibiki nuzzled his neck.

 

"You are." He whispered, and Daichi felt like his head was going to explode from all the blood rushing to his face- "You really are. Maybe I should compliment you more so you can finally get it- your girlfriend's gotta help me with that if that's what it takes."

 

"Sh-She isn't my girlfriend! We just ate out once and-"

 

"Oh- he's right there?" Aiko interjected, "Say hi to him for me!"

 

Hibiki smiled and spoke up, "Hey."

 

She went quiet for a second, "Right, right there? Is this on speaker or are you two cuddling?"

 

Daichi was about to push himself away, about to fix this- but then Hibiki pushed himself closer, legs wrapped around his waist trapping him there and he lost all will and coherent thought to move.

 

"Cuddling," Hibiki said, "It's amazing how warm he is, and how cute he is- but you've figured the latter part out already."

 

"You guys do that? How close are you?" Aiko seemed genuinely curious, and that made Daichi want to claw his ears out because Hibiki was smiling- he could feel Hibiki's lips on the nape of his neck, and he was shivering, and he didn't want her to know that-

 

Hibiki laughed, "Pretty close, we've been best friends for a while actually,"

 -he felt a surge of pride, he didn't know why that feeling of pride didn't clash with his panic- "Hmm, but it's totally platonic, I'm not feeling him up if that's what you're worried about."

 

Daichi felt like he had some sort of objection, despite Hibiki's hands on his hip being a norm, but also felt like pointing that out would embarrass him. Hibiki was already doing a fine enough job with that.

 

Aiko started laughing again, Hibiki's smile widened as he wrapped his arms around Daichi and chuckled, Daichi felt like he was burning, "You're pretty funny, hey, we could all go out sometime? I'm pretty sure the day would be a lot more entertaining with the both of you."

 

Hibiki hummed obnoxiously, an obvious pretending of contemplative thought, "I dunno, I'm afraid one of us would become the third wheel. And I'm pretty sure it won't be me." Daichi already started feeling like the third wheel of this conversation, but by the way Hibiki was squeezing him, he could tell Hibiki wasn't talking about Daichi himself, "But sure, let's all go out together."

 

"Great," she sounded so happy, "I'll leave you two to cuddle, alright? It is pretty late, we can talk about the details later." She paused for a moment before hanging up, "Don't feel him up okay?"

 

She was clearly joking, but it still prompted an undignified squawk from Daichi.

Which was heard by no one else but his best friend- who was currently massaging his hips ("Don't feel him up, okay?" rang dully in his mind but he really didn't want to stop old habits) and a dial tone.

 

"We were supposed to wake up early so I could sneak you out, you think that'd happen now?" Hibiki hummed.

 

"I dunno man," Daichi made sure to put his phone on silent and put it on the bedside table- far enough that he wouldn't reach it if it rang (this was a bad idea, he thought, but hey- he was used to bad decisions.) "But I don't wanna move." 

 

He turned around to better slot his body against Hibiki's instead of spooning (his vulnerable nape felt like it was searing from his touch and Daichi was sure he liked it- not sure if he liked liking it). He liked this position, he thought, to have their chests up against each other- face to face. Felt equal, intimate-

  -as best friends like them should be- he added

 

Hibiki seemed to like it as much, having a small smile when he brought his hands back to Daichi's hips to massage them. It was familiar enough, comfortable enough, but it still brought a heat that was the same as the one not going away on the back of his neck.

 

It was silent for a bit, as comfortable silence replaced the awkwardly lively atmosphere of the call.

 

He was surprised to feel like he didn't want that- surprised that he wanted Hibiki to talk to him about anything to give away the thoughts that Daichi couldn't discern in the dark. It was eating away at his mind- the way their legs weren't entwined or how Hibiki seemed to push him away- not as close as before… (A centimeter was still a centimeter- was he mad at him?- Daichi wanted to stop those little thoughts, but they just made the silence less and less comfortable.)

 

"So... this girl..." he quickly retracted his prior thought. God- anything but that-

 

"C-Can we talk about that later?"

 

"What's stopping us now?" Hibiki's fingers moved up to Daichi's sides, digging pleasantly into them. (Daichi couldn't help but wonder about how lucky and unlucky he was to be in this position as he let out a small noise of approval- his face was starting to heat up again at that-) "What's her name, first of all."

 

No way out. He sighed deeply and weary, and just a tad bit exaggerated, "Okay fine, her name's Aiko." The now awkward silence afterward informed him to keep talking, "Uh. We met today- at a fast food restaurant."

 

The guilt of earlier came back full force when Hibiki was still silent, fingers just there, no pressure.

 

"Uh, sh-she was uh-" crap his voice was starting to shake- "she was stood up, and I gave her your- uh- a burger. Cause she was hungry. Nothing special..." 

 

Hibiki hummed, legitimately contemplative, fingers starting back up at pleasuring hi- too strong of a word that summoned bad thoughts- at massaging him, "And you gave her personal information? Do you know how old she is?"

 

Daichi was startled for a moment- Hibiki was worked up over his safety? Not the fact that he... was off dicking around instead of supporting him...? 

 

"Uh... I know she's over 18 and-"

 

"Daichi, we're adults but... we still have to think of our own safety." Hibiki sighed and removed his hands - Daichi would have felt at a loss if Hibiki's arms weren't looped around his hips and their bodies brought even closer - "I trust you but... this could be unsafe."

 

The relief that hit him was so much that Daichi felt dizzy, and he automatically moved his legs to entwine with Hibiki's and his arms went back to their position around Hibiki's neck, and he wasn't listening to a word Hibiki was saying.

 

"It's okay." Was what he could say, "We'll all go out, hey, maybe I could have my first girlfriend."

 

Hibiki seemed to have any fight sucked out of him the moment Daichi reciprocated, sighing a small "Daichi..." that made said guy feel victorious, "So that's why you didn't come raving about her before- you were only smooth today- I would have liked to see that rarity."

 

_"Hibiki!"_

 

And with that, any awkwardness was banished as they settled into a hushed match of teasing, meant only for the two of them, and Daichi remembered that being his favorite part of it.


	4. A Date? A Date.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week later and they all go out to see the movies.
> 
> Hibiki meets Aiko for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just doubled the whole works' wordcount

The moment he saw them within one foot of each other, he couldn't help but regret everything-  
  
Hibiki took one look at her curly black hair, her bright blue eyes, her chequered tee, did a double take, then doubled over in laughter.  
  
Aiko looked at him questionably, head cocked to one side as the grin she had faltered.  
  
"Nothing!" He wheezed, grinning at her, "I have that exact shirt back at home, you have good taste!"  
  
She looked at him with shock, before her eyes went to Daichi's face, then back to Hibiki's, cheeks pink.  
  
"Thank you, you look really great yourself." Hibiki cocked an eyebrow at that.  
  
Daichi was not surprised she said nothing about himself- Hibiki really did look better- despite his attire being as simple as Daichi's.  
  
But Daichi didn't rock khaki pants as well as Hibiki, rocked jeans, and Hibiki was wearing a blue tank top that showed off his pale arms, collarbone- pale skin-  
Pale skin that had a sheen of sweat, Daichi had to pry his eyes off because he was suddenly getting hotter and he did not wanna point it out- Aiko would laugh at his whining about the heat.  
  
"Daichi," she said, "You're a little quiet, what's up?"  
  
"You're right about how he- um!" He interrupted his own sentence cause he didn't even know where it was going, "N-Not much actually, anyways, Hibiki, this is Aiko" he waved his hand from Hibiki to Aiko, then back, "Aiko, this is Hibiki, my best friend of 10 years. We are- um, were in the same class, and he's a really cool gUH-!"  
  
Hibiki pinched his arm, face blank and cheeks red (embarrassed, how cute- cutely rare-), "S-Sorry, I rambled a bit, didn't I?" He laughed, "From the quietest to the loudmouth, that's me!"  
  
Hibiki rubbed his arm in apology and slid his hand down to lightly touch Daichi's before letting it fall to his side.  
  
As light as it was, it felt imprinted, he still felt it when he reached into his pockets to bring out three tickets, "Okay, who's up for a B rated Horror flick-"  
Hibiki raised his arm and said, "I am, I am!" in the most bored tone ever as he jumped up and down, and Daichi spluttered out laughing, "Sit next to me so you can cuddle up to me if you get scared." and Daichi spluttered in embarrassment.  
Aiko didn't seem to pay attention to what he said, her eyes trained on Hibiki's hand and down his arm to his face.  
  
"Um! So what are we waiting for?" Daichi grabbed Hibiki's arm and forced it down, lingering a little as he stretched his other arm to Aiko, "Let's go Aiko!"  
  
She seemed to snap out of some stupor, grinning wide and cute as she took his hand, "Off we go!"  


* * *

  
"Do you want something?" Daichi asked Aiko, as they stood in line for snacks. The stands had blaring neon lights in the dark movie reception room- and lines that, if they didn't move as quickly as they did, Daichi would have thrown the tickets to the wind and drag the two out of there.  
  
"Hmm... Nothing..." Aiko smiled, "What about you Hibiki?"  
  
Hibiki hummed, "I'll pay for myself, don't worry about me."  
  
Daichi nudged him, "C'mon, I can pay if you carry everything."  
  
"You're just going to binge all the types of popcorn then, I want to be on the safe side."  
  
Daichi hissed, "I'm not gonna be a glutton in front of her!"  
  
Hibiki only responded by poking his cheek.  
  
Daichi didn't know how it happened, but Hibiki ended up paying for both their snacks and Daichi carrying everything. They rushed to their seats, Daichi in front of Hibiki and Aiko lagging behind.  
  
That carried over to the seat pattern of Hibiki in between Daichi and Aiko- that wasn't how romance unfolded! - Daichi would pay more attention to Hibiki and so would Aiko so-  
  
Daichi tugged Hibiki's tank top (dark theater making the lines of his neck hard to make out) "Hibiki, could we switch?"  
  
"Daichi, we're fine like this." It wasn't Hibiki who said this, to Daichi's surprise, but Aiko.  
  
"Sure." Hibiki got up and stretched, "Still next to you, so it's fine. Have fun~" all teasing.  
  
Daichi didn't know which part of that sentence made his cheeks red, what he did know was that he was grateful for the dimmed lights for once.  
  
"C-C'mon man, don't make this embarrassing-" he whispered.  
  
He really wished Hibiki would drop the habit of poking his cheek as a reply.  
  
They both seemed happy with the seating arrangement, Aiko, on the other hand, remained silent, watching as Daichi slapped Hibiki's hand away from his salted popcorn with a "You've got your own!"  
  
"Let me feed you!" Hibiki laughed.  
  
Aiko crossed her legs and cleared her throat, "What do you think is the contrived plot this time?"  
  
Hibiki's smile dropped as Daichi turned his head, "You didn't see the trailer?" Daichi asked, "I've been looking forwards to it cause of the director- not sure the plot would be worth it anyways- I just like the atmosphere."  
  
Hibiki leaned back into his seat as the screen lit up, ads playing loudly over his voice, "Do you think we should have gone for the 3D? Or those expensive 4D ones? I could use some of my own savings if you liked the visuals so much."  
  
"What?" Aiko raised her voice, leaning over Daichi, hands on his thigh to support her, "I didn't hear you!"  
  
Daichi pushed his back against the seat, "You could just tell me, and I'll pass it on!" His cheeks flared as her hands squeezed, Hibiki looked at them intently.  
  
Hibiki took her hands off and held them with his own and lifted them off, "Something stupid. Don't worry about it."  
  
Aiko's own cheeks flared, "R-Right. Sorry."  
  
The screen went dark as the movie began, Daichi thought that at the very most they'd converse about it.  
Hibiki remained virtually silent as the camera panned over an isolated house- before he turned to whisper into Daichi's ear, "Hey, have you thought about moving in together?"  
  
"What makes you say- ohhhh... it's a pretty house yeah-" and his voice hitched as Hibiki hand made itself very clear on his thigh- "Uhh... Hibiki...?"  
  
"With how my studies are going now..." Hibiki's hand started rubbing in slow, small circles, palm warm, voice soft and quiet and it was doing things to Daichi. (He was getting goosebumps all over, and he felt adrenaline pump through his veins, and the scary parts weren't even on yet), "I'm pretty sure I'll get into a good school. Then get a good job. Then we could get a cool place together."  
  
"I- I-" He'd love to move in with Hibiki, absofuckinglutely, but that goddamn hand was messing up the circuits in his brain, and his body was acting like it just found out it could make Daichi even more of a fool, "I'd like th-that.." He crossed his legs and hoped that nothing was obvious.  
No. No, he was not excited. He couldn't be. The prospect of moving in with Hibiki just made him happy. He must have been thinking about the leading actress - some bombshell with red hair - she was onscreen in nothing but her underwear, Aiko cringing was proof of that-  
  
Oh shit, Aiko was cringing-  
  
"It's not a raunchy porn disguised as a horror movie I promise-" Daichi immediately cut his conversation with Hibiki short, granting him a displeased sigh directed at his nape (shit he forgot that it was a weak area- ignore it- ignore it-)  
  
"If the horror was the amount of implants she put into her boobs, then consider me scared to death." She replied.  
  
"Pfft-" Daichi slapped a hand on his mouth as some younger teenager turned around and shushed him.  
  
Aiko giggled, "What's up with them going to the haunted house anyways? It's practically got a neon sign that it's haunted."  
  
Daichi recovered, "Cause if they didn't, she'd never find out who killed her dad."  
  
"That's kinda lame? And why wouldn't she just call the police? If the killer was there then..."  
  
Daichi scratched the back of his neck, it still felt sensitive, "I uh, I don't know? Maybe she just felt like it was her own journey?"  
  
"So she brought her husband and 4 friends."  
  
"How should I know?" Daichi felt overwhelmed, even more so when he felt Hibiki's hand leave his thigh, "Um- I-uh- knew the plot wasn't gonna be great but um... I thought it'd have been funny to watch? That's why I said it was a B-Rated movie..."  
  
Then he felt Hibiki's lips on his nape, and he yelped.  
  
"Shhhh!"  
  
Everyone around then looked fuming.  
  
They were all younger teenagers, they weren't even supposed to be allowed to see this movie-  
  
"H-Hibiki what are you-" he hissed, head turned to glare at him.  
  
"You didn't answer me."  
  
"What did he do?" Aiko asked, and Daichi whipped his head back to smile at her- only for him to feel his own face making the wrong expression.  
  
"N-Nothing, he didn't do anything-"  
  
Aiko raised a brow- some high pitched screaming interrupted her reply, and she jumped back, blood splattered on the screen-  
  
The stupid young teenagers screamed. Hibiki yawned, "That was cheap."  
  
Daichi gripped the armrests when he finally saw the aftermath- the lead character died on screen, a gory, bloody heap on the floor and the point of view switched to her somehow naked sleeping husband...  
  
... and what the fuck just happened?!  
  
"She was the main character man! They just killed her off?!"  
  
"You haven't seen all those death flags? She literally had sex with her husband and said goodbye as he orgasmed."  
  
"Wait- they- she- did what?!"  
  
Hibiki yawned again, "It wasn't even a good sex scene, they took themselves too seriously for 30 seconds- either they cut a ton out, or he cums fast. Good lighting though."  
  
"That's what you focus on?!"  
  
"Yes, not the sex. It looked uncomfortable actually-"  
  
The husband walked around practically naked, holding his blanket to his shivering body, calling out "Jane?"- oh... THAT was her name.  
  
The tension started to ramp up, and Daichi's voice died down as footsteps that were not the husbands started behind him... slowly, slowly...  
  
\- and then he turned around and jumped with a yell, followed by a pair screams and two of Jane's friends jumping into each other's arms-  
  
Not at all similar to how Daichi jumped to grab Hibiki, leaving Aiko with nothing but air to grab- nope- not at all.  
  
"You'd think he was the token black guy," Hibiki whispered, arm coming round Daichi's shoulders to squeeze, "but he's been alive longer than the leading lady, there's either a romantic subplot with him in it, or he's the killer." Aiko made a displeased hum like she tasted something disgusting, Daichi immediately pulled away.  
  
"U-Ummm-" Daichi leaned over to her, "What's up?"  
  
She looked over to him then to Hibiki, then back to the big screen, showcasing the black dude and the extravagantly dressed dude talking to the husband, arms still wrapped around each other.  
  
"Nothing." She said, "Those two are good friends."  
  
"They are, huh?" Daichi thought of when he clung to Hibiki- platonically of course- it made him feel somewhat connected to these characters.  
They were token- but he kinda hoped they'd survive, as the camera panned over another friend who was brutally murdered.  
  
He still cringed at the gore as their body continued to bounce as the killer continued to stab into their intestines.  
  
"... hey Daichi..." Aiko turned to him, looking somewhat worried, "Could I trouble you a bit...?"  
  
"Hm? Yeah, anything." He noted Hibiki bending to drink his Pepsi.  
  
"Um... I kinda want a caramel popcorn..." she looked visibly embarrassed, twirling a lock of hair with her index finger.  
  
"Ah- um..." he took a moment to process, "S-sure! One moment- oh, do you want anything else?"  
  
"Um... hehe," she still looked sheepish, her hand running through her hair, effectively flipping it- he couldn't stop staring- "Um, make it large... and um... a large sprite too..."  
  
"Your wish is my command!" He shot up after handing Hibiki his popcorn -stop staring at how his tongue darts out to- "One moment Madame!"  
  
Feeling significantly satisfied by her laugh that earned them a few shushes, he navigated himself out of the theater as quickly as possible, whisper-shouting as many "Sorry!"s as he could without sounding like a broken record.  
  
The lines outside were long as fucking hell. Longer than last time and some families were making certain orders take longer.  
  
"Why does this happen to me...?" He grumbled.  
He couldn't walk out, not now!  
  
He couldn't cut in line either- he hoped he wasn't that type of guy- so he bit his tongue and waited for...  
  
... fifteen minutes.  
  
He let out the biggest sigh of relief once he finally- finally!- Got to the front.  
  
"A... large caramel popcorn and sprite- please."  
  
Why the hell other people took so long he didn't know. What he did know was that at least 2 other people must have died on the span that he went to get that soda and popcorn and he missed out on getting close with Aiko- how long did he have to try to put his arm around his shoulder?  
  
Ugh, it didn't matter. As long as he didn't wuss out and Hibiki was encouraging instead of a distraction-  
  
He trudged to back to the theater, trying to get back to his seat as quickly as possible- not spilling Aiko's snacks were his greatest priority- and he squeezed back to their row, happy to finally back in his... seat that was currently occupied by Aiko herself...  
  
... wait.  
  
"U-Um! Hey!" Daichi grinned- it felt weird even to himself, Hibiki was looking at him with his eyes extremely wide, and he kept signaling to Aiko with his head- then his own arm. He couldn't really ask what Hibiki meant- she was right there, "So what did I miss?"  
  
He sat down in Aiko's seat, former seat, and passed her the snacks he bought for her, "Thank you Daichi!"  
  
He wished he could wipe the way Hibiki was biting his lip and then grinding his teeth. These were telltale signs that he was reaching a high level of discomfort, and not much got him to this... but why?  
  
The movie didn't seem to scare him- but by the way the camera was shaking, they were at a scary part so-  
  
"Hey, Aiko-chan," he leaned over to whisper, "Why did you take my spot?"  
  
She smiled sheepishly at him, taking the initiative to loop her arms around Daichi's and putting her head on Daichi's shoulder, shivering, "The guy behind you kept kicking me, and I was scared, he just made it a lot worse so..."  
  
Daichi felt his cheeks redden up and, God, what did he do to deserve this? He'd do anything to keep this moment, totally worth the fifteen-minute wait but-  
  
He really couldn't even try to ignore Hibiki's stare. But if he was signaling to Aiko...  
  
It wasn't the time, he'd ask later.  
  
The husbands' agonized screams erupted into the air, the killer closing in on him after throwing... some sort of razor? What the-?  
  
Hibiki looked like he gave up, no longer staring at the two of them, but the screen, shoulders hunched up and stiff.  
  
Not even Aiko-chan tugging his arm tighter to hide her face in his neck helped to divert his attention from the uneasiness of his best friend.  
  
The killer laughed, crouching down as the camera panned over his body, pulled off the mask in front of the husbands’ dead body did though.  
What was the point of having him remove his mask if there wasn't a face reveal?  
  
The camera cut to the remaining survivors, the 4 friends, the two males that were constantly hugging each other, and the other the couple that was continuously separated.  
  
"Looks like they gave up on trying to make one of them the main character." Aiko murmured.  
  
"You think? They've been focusing on those two friends a lot lately." Daichi reached for his popcorn as the camera focused on the pair in question holding hands.  
  
"I ship them." Hibiki finally said, both Daichi and Aiko turned their heads to him, Daichi surprised that was his choice of words and Aiko surprised he said anything at all.  
  
"You mean like a bromance?" Aiko asked.  
  
"No, romantically."  
  
"Dude," Daichi spoke up, "C'mon, do they look like they're doing anything out of the ordinary?" Absolutely not, best friends could do that stuff. Why did he always reassure himself and not Hibiki? He should say this out loud-  
  
Oh.  
  
Right. Admitting he and Hibiki do these things to Aiko-chan while Hibiki was citing those as reasons they were a good romantic match would give her the wrong idea-  
  
"If they don't kiss I'm gonna be disappointed." Hibiki sighed.  
  
"Does this have to do with your preference?"  
  
...  
  
Damn Aiko, you don't beat around the bush-  
  
"Hibiki isn't gay," Daichi said all too quickly, "He likes girls!"  
  
Hibiki raised a brow and looked a little more amused than he should be for someone whose sexuality is questioned in a fucking theater full of teenagers while the killer was chasing after the last female of the group.  
  
He didn't say anything, he just smiled wide and mischievous, and Daichi felt hot, and this was not the time to be caught up in how Aiko kept pressing his nearly asleep arm to her chest.  
  
"Yeah, I like girls." Hibiki cocked his head to one side, "hmm... but I wouldn't mind..." he cocked his head to the other side, eyes half lidded and implications fully open.  
  
"Bi?" Aiko seemed more curious about that than the girl apparently throwing her boyfriend to the killer and running off, "Nothing wrong with that, I am too."  
She seemed really, really interested.  
  
Daichi felt his whole world sucked into some black hole as the screams of the boyfriend echoed his own internal screaming.  
  
"T-This is not the time, or place, to come out."  
  
"This isn't actually coming out, Daichi." Hibiki shrugged, "I'm just confirming your statement, I do like girls."  
  
“...” okay, okay he didn't- he shouldn't make this a big deal- he really shouldn't-  
So what if Hibiki wouldn't mind getting together with-  
  
...  
  
He couldn't see Hibiki with any other guy but-  
  
...  
  
Eyes on the movie, eyes on the movie.  
  
Not on those lips that were slightly parted, that sliver of tongue darting to lick his lips, giving them a sheen of saliva that made them incredibly noticeable-  
  
Eyes on the goddamn movie- oh the killer hung up the currently dead gory bodies, oh how pleasant- What the hell was he even saying anymore?  
  
The two best friends met the girlfriend who was breaking down, babbling with insanity, waving a knife in the air.  
  
"Where did she get that?" Aiko looked up at him, but all he could do was groan as an answer.  
His head was not put on straight, he couldn't shake those thoughts away, and it was bothering him- He didn't even ask Hibiki about his preference, yeah he obviously likes girls but the way his eyes were lidded and his smile was impish, and his voice was playful-  
  
Stop- he needed to stop- he told himself he wouldn't make a big deal and here he was making it a huge deal internally.  
  
He was gonna explode.  
  
The maniacal (former) girlfriend, ran past the pair to stab the creeping killer with a scream.  
  
... only to trip.  
And stab herself in the eye.  
  
How the fuck...?  
  
Daichi cringed at her gasping in pain and at the same time felt a spiritual connection with the embarrassment- he felt extremely sorry for her once the killer started stomping on her to further lodge the knife up her skull.  
  
The black guy got up and snapped a rotting wooden board.  
"I never told you this, Jonathan, but I always loved you!" He shouted.  
  
Jonathan looked at him in shock, tears streaming down his cheeks, "W-Walter...?"  
  
"...what," Daichi said.  
  
"... what?" Aiko said.  
  
"My ship has sailed!" Hibiki laughed.  
  
Walter ran at the killer, whacking his head successfully with immense strength- the killer fell to the ground and Walter wrestled him to keep him there.  
  
Walter punched him, the killer grasped Walter's throat, Daichi felt at the edge of his seat-  
  
They rolled over multiple times, and the floorboards gave out, both falling to the floor below  
  
They fought, Walter and the killer, as to who would hit the floor- they continued wrestling, flipping over, and over.  
  
With a war cry, Walter successfully slammed the killer onto the floor, a floor dyed red, and the organs underneath them squelched with the bang of their fall.  
  
"Walter...! Walter!" Jonathan ran down the stairs after grabbing the knife from the corpse, cringing when he turned her around and slipped it out- "I'm coming- don't you dare die!"  
  
The camera followed him as he slammed the door open to find both bodies motionless on the floor-  
  
"N-No!"  
  
"No!" Daichi echoed.  
  
Aiko was silent, Hibiki looked skeptical.  
  
Jonathan ran to the bodies, pulling Walter off and onto his back, "You can't die!" He sobbed, "You can't! Not when I know you love me!"  
  
He shook him, knife dropped to his side, "I love you, Walter!"  
  
The theater gasped.  
  
Hibiki glowed.  
  
Walter opened his eyes slowly-  
  
And Daichi heard a teenage boy sob in relief.  
  
He heard another sob of relief-  
Wait, that was him-  
  
Jonathan hugged Walter, cried into his chest, "You're okay!"  
  
Walter chuckled weakly, "If we get outta this alive, let's get married."  
  
"Let's!"  
  
They had a moment of silence, interrupted by the killer got up, his own knife in hand, and Jonathan grabbed his own knife with reflexes that saved him prior, pulled away from Walter and stabbed the guy in the neck.  
  
"What the-" he gargled, and crumpled to the floor.  
  
"... that happened." Walter looked amused, "So what wedding rings do you like?"  
  
The sudden shift in tone left Daichi more than a little surprised- he almost felt left behind-  
Yes, that was why he was grinning.  
  
"One moment hun," Jonathan laughed, "Let's see who this jackass is before we get ahead of ourselves." And he pulled off the mask.  
  
Then gasped.  
  
The camera was zoomed into the killers’ neck, spewing blood, and zoomed out slowly, slowly, revealing the killer to be Jane's father.  
  
The camera continued to zoom out, out of the house, out of the isolated plains, into the blue sky.  
  
Then it panned down to Jonathan and Walters linked hands, matching golden bands around their ring fingers, then moved up to their faces, only an inch apart.  
  
"You wanna drive by?" Walter asked.  
  
"Not unless you want me to cry again."  
  
And then they inched closer and closer- only for it to fade to black before they kissed-  
  
"GODDAMNIT-" Daichi heard a shout from behind him.  
  
He turned to look at Aiko, who looked simply lost, then to Hibiki, who looked simply victorious.  
  
"Ship is steady," Hibiki smiled, "You can't believe how proud I am right now."  
  
Aiko looked confused then turned to him as the credits rolled, "... This feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity ship... and it happened."  
  
"... How did you know they would get together?" Daichi couldn't help the suspicious tone that was as obvious as the blaring music of the credits-  
  
"Cause they're tokens, but they weren't treated as such... at the end that is-"  
  
"You saw it before us!"  
  
"Oh, Daichi!" Hibiki had the gall to pretend to be offended, why did that still hurt, "You just have to look at the signs that they're shippable, and you ship them. Then you hope it doesn't crash and burn- by the fakeout, I knew they both would survive cause that's movie cliche #2."  
  
The silence that came after that was deafening in its own right.  


* * *

  
  
"So, Daichi," Aiko stretched as they walked out of the cinema, stairs leading down to the main courtyard, "Where do you want to eat?"  
  
Daichi pulled a yawning Hibiki by the arm, "Ah- ... whatever you'd like to eat!"  
  
Aiko hummed, "Would you guys be okay with Chinese? I love this place's Dim Sum-"  
  
Hibiki half-heartedly nodded and yawned again, "Don't sleep on me-" Daichi shook him a bit.  
  
"That'd be nice..." Hibiki smiled and leaned on Daichi, head on his shoulder and looking more content than that cat that sat near Jungo.  
  
"N-Not literally on me either!"  
  
"Hmm~ Why not? You make a good pillow- I do distinctly remember saying you were good to cuddle with-"  
  
"Guys~ Hurry up!" Aiko called from down the stairs, "They're really popular, we want a seat, right?" She turned evidently somewhat absent, her focus on the restaurant she was apparently talking about.  
  
"Coming!" Daichi shook Hibiki again, "C'mon, let's- hey wait- what the hell are you implying?"  
  
Hibiki only chuckled as they went down the stairs, "I'm saying," he leaned in and whispered so quietly, warm breath making Daichi feel hot, "You're soft... really soft... mnn... I just want to get on top of you and sle-"  
  
Daichi was fucking done.  
He screeched at the tone- the words- what the hell was Hibiki doing to him?!  
  
"... ouch."  
  
What the _hell_ did he do to Hibiki to have him be on the bottom of the stairs on his face-  
  
...  
Did...  
  
Did he throw his best friend off the stairs...?  
  
"H-Hibiki are you okay?!" He ran down, "I'm so sorry!"  
  
"... I could sue. But I'm not going to because I love you too much." Hibiki smiled, small and sincere. Why did he look so...  
So fond...?  
"..."  
  
"Daichi you're going red-"  
  
"I-I'm gonna leave you!" He was babbling, and this was garnering attention- what was he doing- what was Hibiki doing?! “What the hell is wrong with you?!”  
  
He mentally prepared for Hibiki to say something teasing but-  
  
Hibiki just sighed heavily and sat up, "Go."  
  
... "Wait, what...?"  
  
Aiko was a few meters away- she didn't even-  
  
"Go with her. Go on your date. You want to leave me here, so go."  
  
"Hibiki what are you-" his throat was starting to feel dry, w-was Hibiki actually offended...? Wait that-  
  
That wasn't supposed to-  
  
"I'm going to go." Hibiki got up, on his own, he didn't even touch Daichi for support or reassurance-  
  
 -happen  
  
No no no- he ran his stupid mouth and he-  
  
Daichi wanted to reach out to reassure Hibiki- to reassure himself-  
He was glued to the spot, and this wouldn't help him.  
  
"H-Hibiki wait." He couldn't control how loud he shouted, how bad his voice cracked, he didn't care, "We'll meet up at your house later, right?"  
  
Hibiki looked fully awake, no trace of the cute drowsiness or playfulness-  
  
"Don't bother. Text me when you're done."  
  
It hurt to hear the difference, to hear nothing but cold.  
  
"Wait don't go! Don't-" Hibiki didn't have his hoodie to pretend his shoulders weren't shaking-  
  
_Don't go._  
  
_Don't cry._  
  
_Don't-_  
  
"Come on!" Aiko seemed to finally get with the program, turning around, "Where did Hibiki go?"  
  
... he didn't want to continue but-  
  
"Oh, he must have been sleepy. You will tell him I'm worried about him, okay?" She approached and held Daichi's hand, lacing her fingers with his own.  
  
He felt sick. He had every fear- every guilt surface but-  
  
"Let's go Daichi."  
  
 -he couldn't say no to her bright smile.  
_He couldn't say no to her bright blue eyes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got too goddamn invested in the movie playing with their shenanigans
> 
> im sorry


	5. Did I Hurt You? Can I Reach You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi doesn't understand why Hibiki's so mad at him.
> 
> Then it clicks

"You haven't called him yet, have you?" Aiko transferred some dumplings from the assortment to her plate, "... and you haven't eaten either. I'm not dumb, what did you two fight about?"  
  
Daichi wanted to gnaw on his chopsticks as much as anxiety gnawed at his chest, in fact- the added discomfort and pain of splinters would probably make him feel like he partly got what he deserved.  
  
Partly.  
  
A very minuscule, insignificant part of what he deserved.  
  
"He's... I-I'm-" stop being selfish! For once! "Fine."  
Hibiki never was offended by any of his outbursts- what did he do?! Where did he mess up?!  
  
Did...  
  
Did he mess up his entire friendship-?  
  
_What did you do Shijima?_  
  
He wanted some hole to open underneath him and swallow him up. Choke on a damn chopstick in a god damn Chinese Dumpling restaurant, and maybe it'll be on the news, and maybe Hibiki would get a laugh.  
He wouldn't have to be friends with a stupid, good for nothing, lazy, idiotic, let down-  
  
"Why don't you call him? Right now?" Aiko smiled, "It's good to talk it out... as soon as possible perhaps? Or does he need to let off some steam? How do you usually sort fights?"  
  
He didn't know because Hibiki never looked at him like that- cold, unfamiliar-  
  
His breaths were shallow-  
  
"Maybe give me his number?" She poked the shrimp dumpling, attention fully on it, "... ah... a third party could help mediate it?"  
  
"W-what...?" He needed to calm down, he was breaking out into a cold sweat, and he didn't even fully comprehend her question.  
  
"Could you..." she paused, and her eyes didn't meet his own until she opened her mouth again, "Give me his phone number? I..." she looked down again at her food and brought her hand up to her face, "I want to help you two. You seemed close."  
  
... what did he do to deserve her?   
  
"... y-you'll help...?" Daichi hated how weak his voice was, how he croaked, the least Daichi could do was sound less like he was about to collapse.  
  
She nodded and smiled kindly, unblinking, "Yeah. I'll talk to Hibiki later. I'll tell him how bad you feel- but you should go meet up with him later, okay?"  
  
He nodded and texted it to her -he knew it by heart since they got these models- and sent it.  
  
She immediately opened her phone and saved it.  
  
"I am curious though... what did he tell you?" Aiko continued to smile the same way, which was strange for the change of 'I'll help you with your problem' to 'Do tell me about your problem.'  
  
He didn't want to talk about it though.  
  
"I-I... its nothing much even..."  
  
He didn't even want to think about it, it made him feel like he was drowning-  
  
"Then why not tell me? Does it have to do with me?" Her smile dropped, and she blinked as if holding back tears, "Did I do something wrong? Oh, God, I need to know- I have to apologize then!"  
  
She looked downright horrified  
  
"N-No! Nonono! I-It didn't..!" He felt a surge of panic, it made him stand, "It's not you, i-it never would be! You're- you- were perfect...!"  
  
She wiped at her eyes "... Daichi..." she sniffed, "... was I...? You're too sweet..."  
  
His heart started beating fast.  
  
He almost didn't want it to.  
  
"N.. no... I-I'm just..." his voice went a bit higher than he intended it to- damn, this wasn't the time to start blushing and acting this way! Hibiki was-  
  
Hibiki was... she was smiling wide and happy and relieved.  
  
She ran a hand through her black locks and then got up.  
He almost backed away when she moved around the table to get closer to him- only then did he realize he was still standing because then she was on her toes.  
  
"Hi-"  
  
Her lips were on his.  
  
"....mmm...."   
  
And for those brief, electric moments... he couldn't think of anything else.  
  
He was surprised, for some reason, when it was Aiko who pulled away. He probably just wanted it to continue.  
  
"Please, be my boyfriend." She said.  
  
He felt all eyes in the restaurant on them.   
Aiko kissed him when he said yes.  
He felt electric again, duller, but he still felt as if some wire in his brain short-circuited.  
  
"You'll tell Hibiki I'm worried, right...?"  
  
Aiko kissed him again when he dumbly nodded. He couldn't imagine refusing her and her bright blue eyes anything.

* * *

  
  
He went home, after escorting her to the subway, and sat on his bed. He thought, and thought, about everything that transpired- his heart was still beating wildly- he was still flushed-   
  
_'... I could sue. But I'm not going to because I love you too much.'_ Hibiki was laughing and then-  
  
_'I'm going to leave you!'_  
  
...  
  
It clicked.  
His heart sank.  
Aiko was the farthest thing from his mind as he fumbled with his phone.  
  
He didn't even text him to tell him the date was over- what the actual-  
  
He selected Hibiki's number and in his hurry, was about to delete it before- still as hurriedly, still as quickly- canceling and finally pressing call.  
  
He was scared as the dial tone started, w-what was he going to say? 'I'm sorry for pushing you off the stairs and then freaking out when you said you loved me too much-' well that sounded like a good thing to start on.  
He shouldn't- really shouldn't- beg, but he wanted to get on his knees because he couldn't lose Hibiki- he couldn't-  
  
He couldn't hear the dial tone because the phone gave up.  
Hibiki didn't pick up...  
  
He felt bile start inching forward at the back of his throat.  
  
"No... no no, c'mon at least pick up so I can tell you- so I can-"   
  
His throat was tight- his muscles were tense- he was shaking and his vision blurred- he pressed call again.  
  
He put the phone up to his ear, already hearing the dial tone cutting off.  
  
Hibiki rejected his call.  
  
_Hibiki rejected-_  
  
"No! No, no-" he couldn't- he couldn't lose him, Daichi was stupid- good for nothing-   
  
He pressed call again- not surprised it already ended.  
  
He felt nauseous.  
  
"Fuck- fuck! Seriously?!"  
  
His phone notified him of two messages-  
  
One from Hibiki, no subject. One from Aiko, subject being: "Don't Forget! <3"  
He immediately pressed Hibiki's message, and it said-  
  
"You're done with your date I take it. Good that you went home safely. Don't bother calling me again, I'm going to sleep."  
  
He shoved his phone into his pocket and opened his door, he wasn't going to let it end with both of them not talking about it.  
  
He made it down the steps in record time-  
He wasn't going to let anything ruin years of friendship- ever.  
  
Ever.  
  
"Where are you going?" His mom asked, sitting alone at the dinner table (knitting with his yarn- no- that doesn't matter)  
  
It was dusk- she didn't usually care-  
  
"Hibiki's house. I finished the grocery list already- um, and my chores and- I have my phone if you need anything." he patted his khaki's and rushed out once she shrugged. He wasted enough time.  
  
He looked up at Hibiki's closed window. Should he...?  
  
He slipped his phone out and pressed call as he climbed up the tree, proficiency in climbing like a monkey was something to eternally be grateful to, though his pants were a little bit of a hindrance-  
  
Didn't matter, Hibiki rejected his call after the third dial tone, it only made Daichi climb with more resolve.  
  
He slipped his phone back into his pocket to better support himself and leaned in to knock the window.  
  
He saw Hibiki sitting on his bed -  Daichi knew he wasn't going to sleep the moment he sent that message - tank tops still on, jeans replaced by pajama pants.   
The moment Daichi knocked, Hibiki's head snapped to the window.  
  
He rushed to open it, only to immediately shoot Daichi's efforts down.  
  
"What are you doing? Go home."  
  
Would he say it...?  
  
Daichi looked at Hibiki's eyes.  
His smart, pretty blue eyes with way too thick eyelashes- they looked too distant.  
  
He would say it.  
  
"Home is with you."  
  
Hibiki's surprise allowed Daichi to reach out to touch his shoulder- it made Hibiki jump as if just realizing-  
  
His hand was on Daichi's, pulling him into his room.  
  
"... welcome home."  


* * *

  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
It wasn't until they were both dressed in pajamas and sitting on the bed, hands still connected, that Daichi spoke.  
  
"Are you?" Hibiki kept looking at them- their interlocked hands, Daichi felt all shy.  
  
"Yeah I-I-" Daichi cleared his throat, but the lump wouldn't go away, "I acted like an ass. I-It was- you were joking... and I went... I went too far."  
  
Hibiki squeezed his hand and looked at Daichi all sheepish, small smile, slight flush, and Daichi couldn't look away.  
  
He looked- he looked so...  
... Daichi didn't know, Daichi just wanted to look at him forever.  
  
Hibiki thought for a moment, and said, "How did the date go?"  
  
"Huh?" Daichi realized he said something and surprised he understood because he realized he was staring, "U-Um! It went a little awkward near the end but... it turned out great."  
  
"Really?" Hibiki teased, "Wow, what did you do, you smooth operator you?"  
  
Daichi blushed at the memory, "Well~ haha, um..." it was kinda embarrassing, "We had lunch and then we... well more like she..."  
  
Hibiki smiled and squeezed his hand, "Go on~."  
  
"She kissed me... three times- and, haha... I finally got a girlfriend."  
  
He smiled at Hibiki all shy, he could handle whatever teasing came his way.  
  
Except Hibiki didn't tease him. Hibiki froze up and looked at him with some unreadable expression that made Daichi doubt if what he said was something good at all.

... did he insult Hibiki?   
  
He replayed what he said and came up with nothing that could have made Hibiki freeze up like that.  
  
Was it just shock...?  
  
"What a surprise, huh? I thought you'd be the one with a girlfriend by now!" He laughed unsteadily.  
  
Hibiki looked at their hands, Daichi noted him not grasping back, so he squeezed Hibiki's hand.  
  
He must have done something wrong, because Hibiki looked like he was pained, and pulled his hand away.  
  
"Dude...?" Daichi was confused, scared-  
  
 -Come on, what did he do now?! They just made up, and everything was going fine-  
  
"... I'm happy for you." Hibiki murmered.  
  
"Don't lie-" because he wasn't happy, "What's wrong? Did you like her?"  
  
Hibiki shrugged, "I uh... don't like her at all actually."  
  
Daichi grinned and nudged him, "Guess I don't have to worry about those 'best friend and girlfriend get together and run away during an outing' scenarios then! Hey, when do you think we could go out all together then?"  
  
Hibiki rubbed his arm, "... I don't mean that- um," Daichi's smile dropped, "I mean yeah, I wouldn't go out with her romantically, but I wouldn't go out as her friend either..."  
  
"...what?" Daichi couldn't really see Hibiki disliking anyone to the extent that he would outright refuse to go out with them and Daichi- even that one guy who bullied them when they were younger- Hibiki agreed as long as Daichi was with him- "Why...?"  
  
Hibiki scooted further onto the bed until his back touched the headboard. He sighed, "I don't feel good about her. When you went out to get her snacks..." He paused, looking at Daichi in the eye, "She switched seats as soon as you left, and tried to get my number."  
  
Daichi was still confused.  
  
"That wouldn't be so bad. Except Aiko kept cuddling up to me. She put her arms around me and whispered 'Aren't you scared? I'm scared. Please let me hug you if something scary comes up!' I didn't want her to. I didn't give her my number. And she was like that for the full duration of your absence."  
  
Daichi thought for a moment, did it warrant how tense Hibiki was when Daichi got back? Sure, between them personal space wasn't a thing but-  
"Maybe she really was just scared- and maybe she just wanted to contact you? I gave it to her since she wanted to-"  
  
"You what?!"  
  
Daichi sat up straight in alarm, "D-Dude are you okay?"  
  
"No, no I'm not! Did you even ask me if it was okay to share?!" Hibiki looked furious, and Daichi didn't even know what to do, "I didn't go through 15 minutes of her needling me for my number, avoiding giving her my number, only for you to give it straight up!"  
  
Daichi felt like he had to say something- anything- Hibiki couldn't just attack his girlfriend, just cause he was jealous that Daichi got one first- could he?  
  
"She wanted to help us- she knew we did something and wanted to act as some sort of mediator- cut her some slack! Do you even know her?!"   
  
"What about you?! Do you know her? Where she works? Her favorite food? Her favorite music?" Daichi couldn't say anything cause Hibiki was right- their first conversation on the day they met didn't cover that stuff- "You knew her for a week, Daichi, and now that you're going out, you're telling me that I'm the one clueless about her?"  
  
"Y-You're not giving her the benefit of the doubt-" Daichi had nothing to really deal with the way he felt- he felt stabbed, he felt like the knife was twisted, Hibiki didn't trust his choices or his girlfriend. He was acting really goddamn strange- "That sort of stuff w-would come naturally- its comfortable around her- just give her a chance!"  
  
"Like she gave me a chance in the cinema? Because she gave me the chance to practically feel her boobs. Does that sound comfortable to you?"  
  
Daichi didn't know what to say- so he stayed silent. He couldn't look at Hibiki in the face, but he felt Hibiki’s glare, his neck felt itchy, so he scratched the back of it to distract himself.  
  
"Boys, it's dinner time," Hibiki's mom knocked on the door, "Daichi, I know you're in there, you’re so noisy. Why aren't you letting Hibiki study?"  
  
Hibiki groaned, "Coming, Mama. Do I need to bring water, like you asked?"  
  
Hibiki's mom was quiet for a moment, before saying, “Not anymore. Next time, maybe I’ll give you some. Do remember to study some more, you don’t want to become a failure.”

  
"Of course, Mama!"  
  
And her footsteps echoed away, leaving them in silence.  
  
"..."  
  
It wasn't even comfortable as it always was- they never had continuous fights like this at all-  
  
Hibiki pushed himself off the bed, "... Let's go."  
  
Daichi couldn't muster any other words but "Okay."

* * *

  
He should have left. The moment they were done, he should have come up with some excuse and got out of there because dinner was quiet, as usual, but he avoided meeting Hibiki's eye or pinching him under the table-  
  
There was no sense of underlying fun. Underlying togetherness.  
  
If Hibiki's mom noticed, she said nothing about it. She only looked as if she wanted to say something to Hibiki- as always, she was restless and her eyes went from Daichi’s plate to Hibiki’s glass of water.  
  
Hibiki obviously noticed.  
Daichi didn't expect him to say anything about it, though.  
  
Bedtime was even weirder- both already in pajamas, Daichi couldn't up and run away- especially with the strict rules about curfews in Hibiki's house.  
  
They brushed their teeth in silence- Daichi came over so often there was a toothbrush just for him- they sat on Hibiki's couch in silence, they got into bed in silence.  
  
And when Daichi reached out to hug Hibiki close to him, to get some of that warmth from Hibiki he always seemed to long for, he watched as Hibiki turned over in silence, moving as far away as the bed would allow.  
  
He was within arm's reach but-  
  
It felt like it was miles apart.  
And Daichi knew he couldn't trek that distance to get to Hibiki because he felt too heavy, too tired to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol u thought i forgot this existed lolololol
> 
> this whole thing was meant to be a lot cuter but then-

**Author's Note:**

> Something with a plot for once! Go me!
> 
> pls leave feedback bc this is my first multichapter fic and im scared-


End file.
